Every boy grows up with a childhood hero. Someone we looked up to, often a sports figure. My baseball hero was Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers. He played his whole career with the Tigers, and he played right field which I played in Little League. In football, my dad saw to it that I was an Ole Miss fan. The quarterback at Ole Miss was typically my favorite football player. My favorite still is Archie Manning. In basketball, I was a Boston Celtics fan (again, because of my dad), and my favorite was John Havlicek. I have signed pictures of all of these men in my home or office.

Nonetheless, the man I watched more than any other was Arnold Palmer. I remember watching him on our black and white TV repeatedly win the Masters in the 1960s. He was the first superstar of golf and especially golf on television. My dad and I talked about his swing when we would go out and play golf on Sunday afternoons. I took up golf because of my dad and Arnold Palmer. Continue reading →

Over the last few years people of all ages have been using their phones to take selfies. Pictures are posted on all the social media platforms of people holding up their phones to take pictures of themselves. Sometimes it’s a group shot; often it’s (unfortunately) a person looking in the mirror at themselves.

Some of these pictures are funny. Many are increasingly inappropriate. A recent study has shown that this obsession with taking selfies is leading to increased narcissism. Narcissism is a personality disorder that involves a preoccupation with self and how one is perceived by others. It pursues gratification from vanity and the admiration of one’s own physical and intellectual attributes. Continue reading →

Someone once said, “I have never sufficiently praised the Lord and never can.” I certainly agree with that statement, especially in light of what God has been doing in our midst.

Although we’ve had reasons to lose perspective and opportunities to be faint of heart, this church has stayed focused in recent months – and I believe the result of singular focus and open hearts is evident to even the most casual observer.

We are in a season when we are seeing God work and move with greater freedom. We’ve been more responsive during the invitations, and there’s been a sweet aroma of praise in our midst. The wind of the Spirit is blowing. Continue reading →

God is stirring, not only evidenced in our services each week, but also in pockets and places all across our community. I am convinced that the time is now for pastors and churches and believers in this area to seek the Lord with fervency and passion, asking Him to rend the heavens and pour out revival and awakening in Southwest Georgia.

I’ve been part of prayer gatherings with local pastors, encouraging meetings where vision and unity are the theme – it’s like nothing I’ve seen in my nearly 27 years here. This fall could be a significant moment for our region. What if God showed up? What if we linked arm in arm as the Body of Christ for the sake of this place we call home? It could happen. Continue reading →

Pain is inevitable. We all feel it. Physical pain can be crippling. Emotional pain can be paralyzing. Pain can come in a thousand forms. Everyone has pain on some level. A failed marriage. A prodigal child. A failing business. A dying dream. Pain is a common denominator. Because we live in a fallen world and because we are sinners, pain is a reality.

Don’t let some happy-go-lucky philosopher tell you differently. Don’t let some prosperity preacher convince you to ignore the reality of pain. If pain is not a reality, the God owes Job and many others an apology. If pain is just something that existed before the health and wealth gospel came around, then God owes the first-century martyrs an explanation. Continue reading →